India’s economy sits firmly on the back of the country’s trucking industry, which sees approximately 8 million truck drivers and their helpers traversing the country to deliver much needed goods. Of this, almost 3–3.5 million are long distance truck drivers where nearly a third (36%) are clients of commercial sex workers — the potential carriers of HIV/AIDS virus.
However, with rigorous nationwide campaign, India’s HIV prevalence which peaked in 2000, is showing a continuous decline in the past 2 decades to 0.21% in 2021 with 1.48% of long haul truck drivers being affected with the disease.
Long haul truck drivers spend an average of 12 hours per day on the road, driving valuable freight over long distances and spending months at a time on the road. Irregular schedules, long hours, little physical activity, limited access to healthy food on the road, and stress make healthy living a challenge for long-haul truck drivers. And apart from HIV/AIDS there are other health concerns like Refractive errors, Cataract, Hypertension, Diabetes, Tobacco and Alcohol Addiction and Tuberculosis that are also prevalent among the community.
The trucking industry is one of the largest employers in India, providing a vital service to the smooth running of the country. According to industry experts, approximately 30 million people are directly employed by the trucking industry and more than 150 million people depend on it for their bread and butter.
It’s a very demanding job as truckers mostly deal with high-value and important goods – a source of stress, and limited their ability to focus on long-term health. A recent study revealed that about 50% of Indian truckers suffered from vision related issues which they are unaware of, 50% drivers are overweight and 41% suffer from hypertension.
More needs to be done to educate this marginalised community of the impact, methods of prevention, and treatment options of not only HIV/AIDS, but a wide array of other health issues too. It is vital that we collaboratively work together to support this community in balancing their health indicators.
How it can be achieved
By taking health education directly to them through the healthcare centres that are setup at truck terminals that dot the country and see thousands of trucks stop at them each and every day. Additionally, frequent health checkup camps should be organised with medical consultation provided.
At times truckers might not have the time to visit healthcare centres at truck terminals, and during their long hours of driving favour listening to the radio or mobile recordings — for which there are multiple available online and mobile app-based resources which can be used to send pre-recorded messages on mobile phones on diabetes, nutrition and lifestyle modifications to promote better health.
Peer educators like the Dhabawalla’s and Chaiwallas, who proactively worked during HIV/AIDS campaigns to raise awareness among truckers on the issue, can once again be harnessed as volunteers to provide a crucial link between health services and truckers.
Additionally, truck unions play a vital role in influencing the operation of truck drivers, and prove to be a crucial stakeholder to take charge in mobilising change in their communities. By leading from the front there is hope in improving indicators in health related issues among truckers.
The truckers population simply don’t have any health facilities available to them. It’s a migratory population and they don’t have time to wait in line at government hospitals to see a doctor. For them, time is money! The logistics and transport industry are highly dependent on this vulnerable population, and health impacts can have a domino effect on these industries which could impact the entire country.
Resources like healthcare centres at truck terminals, peer educators and behaviour change communications campaigns need more support, with collaborations and partnerships of organisations and unions, to provide HIV/AIDS and other important healthcare services to this stakeholder group.
—The author, Pearl Tiwari, is Director and CEO, Ambuja Foundation. The views expressed are personal.
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
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